Tuesday 9th March
Pozzallo to Valletta, Malta.
Oh Hurrah - we are finally on our way to Malta, no bad news overnight from Virtu the ferry company so we set off for the port at 7.45am. A bit earlier than usual for us but we had a bit of a busy night anyway as the mosquitoes here decided to attack with a vengeance. Despite it being cold and windy they seem to think it is tropical enough for a feast. We had to hide under the sheets and they look almost the size of daddy longlegs in this part of the world and sounded like hurricane bombers trying to land on the top of said sheet.
Once on board we were handed a seasick pill along with cups of coffee and breakfast. A very good idea as most people went to sleep, including me but Alec being a good sailor kept waking me up laughing at a film he was watching. Whilst waiting to change the date on our tickets we met a very friendly fellow - in fact we met several in the queue who were full of information about where to go and told us a bit about the history of Malta so we are looking forward to exploring it all. It was a fairly comfortable trip over and very quick and we docked just in time to hear the midday cannon firing from the old saluting battery in Valletta. The first thing we had to get to grips with was cycling on the left side of the road. After 6 months on the right it is quite a challenge and the drivers here don’t seem to give you as much room. We are booked in to a fairly basic hotel (the smell on entering of polish and disinfectant took us straight back to our school days) but with a fantastic view over Valletta’s harbour. We had a balcony which was great for watching all the ships enter and leave the harbour, the downside was that someone had seemingly hidden some ripe cheese in the room which we never managed to find!!
The top of the Victoria Gate from the wall outside our hotel.
A yacht for sale at a mere 150 million - not sure if that's euros, dollars or £'s but either way it sounds like a lot! And a container ship just arriving, at least some are still working.
Valletta is the largest and possibly the deepest natural port in the Med and has 3 ‘fingers’ of landing jutting in to it making it a very long cycle ride to get from one end to the other. ‘The Malta Experience’ was our first port of call as it gives you a marvelous introduction to the history of the island. Starting at 5,000BC and bringing you right up to the island’s independence in 1964. All condensed into about 60 minutes but terribly interesting and informative. Frankly we should have sat through it twice as there really was so much to take in. The cinema where the show is screened is completely multinational with headphones for everyone and the script is translated into 22 different languages. As a great deal of the presentation concerns Malta’s strategic positioning in the Med which caused it to be bombed senseless in 1914-18 and again in ’39 -’45 we wondered just what the 50 strong German party made of it all.
After that we went walkabout and found the Cathedral of John the Baptist and the War Museum which we want to see tomorrow. Malta is still very much influenced by Britain, everything stays open at lunchtime but closes with a ‘bang’ at 5.30pm hence we missed these two today!
Almost everyone we have met has warned us that the food on Malta is disappointing, and do you know what – they are right. Everywhere the restaurants might just as well advertise ‘school dinners’ thick gloopy sauces, raw chips and vegetables boiled until all the colour and flavour has been thoroughly rinsed out. At least the view from our bedroom makes up for a lot of things!
Pozzallo to Valletta, Malta.
Oh Hurrah - we are finally on our way to Malta, no bad news overnight from Virtu the ferry company so we set off for the port at 7.45am. A bit earlier than usual for us but we had a bit of a busy night anyway as the mosquitoes here decided to attack with a vengeance. Despite it being cold and windy they seem to think it is tropical enough for a feast. We had to hide under the sheets and they look almost the size of daddy longlegs in this part of the world and sounded like hurricane bombers trying to land on the top of said sheet.
Once on board we were handed a seasick pill along with cups of coffee and breakfast. A very good idea as most people went to sleep, including me but Alec being a good sailor kept waking me up laughing at a film he was watching. Whilst waiting to change the date on our tickets we met a very friendly fellow - in fact we met several in the queue who were full of information about where to go and told us a bit about the history of Malta so we are looking forward to exploring it all. It was a fairly comfortable trip over and very quick and we docked just in time to hear the midday cannon firing from the old saluting battery in Valletta. The first thing we had to get to grips with was cycling on the left side of the road. After 6 months on the right it is quite a challenge and the drivers here don’t seem to give you as much room. We are booked in to a fairly basic hotel (the smell on entering of polish and disinfectant took us straight back to our school days) but with a fantastic view over Valletta’s harbour. We had a balcony which was great for watching all the ships enter and leave the harbour, the downside was that someone had seemingly hidden some ripe cheese in the room which we never managed to find!!
The top of the Victoria Gate from the wall outside our hotel.
A yacht for sale at a mere 150 million - not sure if that's euros, dollars or £'s but either way it sounds like a lot! And a container ship just arriving, at least some are still working.
Market square, Valletta.
Valletta is the largest and possibly the deepest natural port in the Med and has 3 ‘fingers’ of landing jutting in to it making it a very long cycle ride to get from one end to the other. ‘The Malta Experience’ was our first port of call as it gives you a marvelous introduction to the history of the island. Starting at 5,000BC and bringing you right up to the island’s independence in 1964. All condensed into about 60 minutes but terribly interesting and informative. Frankly we should have sat through it twice as there really was so much to take in. The cinema where the show is screened is completely multinational with headphones for everyone and the script is translated into 22 different languages. As a great deal of the presentation concerns Malta’s strategic positioning in the Med which caused it to be bombed senseless in 1914-18 and again in ’39 -’45 we wondered just what the 50 strong German party made of it all.After that we went walkabout and found the Cathedral of John the Baptist and the War Museum which we want to see tomorrow. Malta is still very much influenced by Britain, everything stays open at lunchtime but closes with a ‘bang’ at 5.30pm hence we missed these two today!
Almost everyone we have met has warned us that the food on Malta is disappointing, and do you know what – they are right. Everywhere the restaurants might just as well advertise ‘school dinners’ thick gloopy sauces, raw chips and vegetables boiled until all the colour and flavour has been thoroughly rinsed out. At least the view from our bedroom makes up for a lot of things!
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